Australia has prohibited the use of DeepSeek on all government devices due to concerns about security risks posed by the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup. The Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs has directed all government entities to stop using DeepSeek products, applications, and web services, and to remove any existing instances from Australian government systems and devices.
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Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke stated that DeepSeek presents an unnecessary risk to government technology, and the ban is necessary to safeguard Australia's national security and interests. This ban does not apply to devices owned by private citizens. After DeepSeek released its latest AI model last month, which is cheaper and requires less sophisticated chips compared to other models, technology stocks worldwide plummeted.
Australia's decision to ban DeepSeek follows similar actions taken in Italy, with other countries in Europe and beyond also investigating the AI firm. Similarly, Taiwan recently prohibited government departments from using DeepSeek's AI service.
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